Ikhtilaf - (differences)
among the Madhhabs
in Islam
Differences of Opinion
are a Mercy
1. Al-Hafiz al-Bayhaqi in his book
"al-Madkhal" and al-Zarkashi in
his "Tadhkirah fi al-ahadith al-
mushtaharah" relate: Imam al-
Qasim ibn Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr
al-Siddiq said: "The differences
among the Companions of
Muhammad (s) are a mercy for
Allah's servants. Al-Hafiz al-`Iraqi
the teacher of Ibn Hajar al-
`Asqalani said: "This is a saying of
al-Qasim ibn Muhammad who said:
'The difference of opinion among
the Companions of Muhammad (s)
is a mercy.
...Read the remaining part from the comments
2. Al-Hafiz Ibn al-Athir in the
ReplyDeleteintroduction to his "Jami` al-usul
fi ahadith al-rasul" relates the
above saying from Imam Malik
according to al-Hafiz Ibn al-
Mulaqqin in his "Tuhfat al-muhtaj
ila adillat al-Minhaj" and Ibn al-
Subki in his "Tabaqat al-
Shafi`iyya."
3. Bayhaqi and Zarkashi also said:
Qutada said: "'Umar ibn `Abd al-
`Aziz used to say: 'It would not
please me more if the
Companions of Muhammad (s) did
not differ among them, because
had they not differed there
would be no leeway (for us).'"
4. Bayhaqi also relates in "al-
Madkhal" and Zarkashi in the
"Tadhkira": Al-Layth ibn Sa`d said
on the authority of Yahya ibn
Sa`id: "the people of knowledge
are the people of flexibility
(tawsi`a). Those who give fatwas
never cease to differ, and so
this one permits something while
that one forbids it, without one
finding fault with the other when
he knows of his position."
5. Al-Hafiz al-Sakhawi said in his
"Maqasid al-hasana" p. 49 #39
after quoting the above: "I have
read the following written in my
shaykh's (al-Hafiz ibn Hajar)
handwriting: 'The hadith of Layth
is a reference to a very famous
hadith of the Prophet (s), cited
by Ibn al-Hajib in the
"Mukhtasar" in the section on
qiyas (analogy), which says:
"Difference of opinion in my
Community is a mercy for
people" (ikhtilafu ummati
rahmatun li al-nas). There is a lot
of questioning about its
authenticity, and many of the
imams of learning have claimed
that it has no basis (la asla lahu).
However, al-Khattabi mentions it
in the context of a digression in
"Gharib al-hadith" . . . and what
he says concerning the tracing
of the hadith is not free from
imperfection, but he makes it
known that it does have a basis
in his opinion.'"
6. Al-`Iraqi mentions all of the
ReplyDeleteabove (1-5) in his "Mughni `an
haml al-asfar" and says: "What is
meant by "the Community" in this
saying is those competent for
practicing legal reasoning (al-
mujtahidun) in the branches of
the law, wherein reasoning is
permissible."
NOTE: What `Iraqi meant by
saying "the branches wherein
reasoning is permissible" is that
difference is not allowed in
matters of doctrine, since there
is agreement that there is only
one truth in the essentials of
belief and anyone, whether a
mujtahid or otherwise, who
takes a different view
automatically renounces Islam.
(Shawkani, "Irshad al-Fuhul" p.
259 as quoted in Kamali,
"Principles of Islamic
Jurisprudence" p. 383.) Al-Albani
in his attack on the hadith
"Difference of opinion in my
Community is a mercy" ignores
this distinction and even adduces
the verse: "If it had been from
other than Allah they would
have found therein much
discrepancy" (4:82) in order to
prove that differences can
never be a mercy in any case
but are always a curse. Al-
Albani's point is directed entirely
against those who are content
to follow a madhhab. The only
scholar he quotes in support of
his position is Ibn Hazm al-Zahiri,
whose mistake he adopts
without mentioning it was
denounced by Nawawi. ("Silsila
da`ifa" 1:76 #57)
7. Ibn Hazm said in "al-Ihkam fi
usul al-ahkam" (5:64): "The saying
"Difference of opinion in my
Community is a mercy" is the
most perverse saying possible,
because if difference were
mercy, agreement would be
anger, and it is impossible for a
Muslim to say this, because
there can only be either
agreement, or difference, and
there can only be either mercy,
or anger." However, Imam
Nawawi said in his Commentary
on "Sahih Muslim": "If something
(i.e. agreement) is a mercy it is
not necessary for its opposite to
be the opposite of mercy. No-
one makes this binding, and no-
one even says this except an
ignoramus or one who affects
ignorance. Allah the Exalted said:
"And of His mercy He has made
night for you so that you would
rest in it," and He has named
night a mercy: it does not
necessarily ensue from this that
the day is a punishment."
8. Al-Khattabi said in "Gharib al-
hadith": "Difference of opinion in
religion is of three kinds: - In
affirming the Creator and His
Oneness: to deny it is kufr
(disbelief); - In His attributes and
will: to deny them is innovation; -
In the different rulings of the
branches of the law (ahkam al-
furu`): Allah has made them
mercy and generosity for the
scholars, and that is the meaning
of the hadith: "Difference of
opinion in my Community is a
mercy." Al-Jarrahi cited it in
"Kashf al-khafa" 1:64 #153.
9. Al-Hafiz al-Suyuti says in his
ReplyDeleteshort treatise "Jazil al-mawahib
fi ikhtilaf al-madhahib" (The
Abundant Grants Concerning the
Differences Among the Schools):
"The hadith "Difference of opinion
in my Community is a mercy for
people" has many benefits among
which are the fact that the
Prophet (s) foretold of the
differences that would arise
after his time among the
madhahib in the branches of the
law, and this is one of his
miracles because it is a
foretelling of things unseen.
Another benefit is his approval
of these differences and his
confirmation of them because he
characterizes them as a mercy.
Another benefit is that the
legally responsible person can
choose to follow whichever he
likes among them." After citing
the saying of `Umar ibn `Abd al-
`Aziz already quoted (#3 above),
Suyuti says: "This indicates that
what is meant is their
differences in the rulings in the
branches of the law."
10. The muhaddith al-Samhudi
relates al-Hafiz Ibn al-Salah's
discussion of Imam Malik's saying
concerning difference of opinion
among the Companions: "Among
them is the one that is wrong
and the one that is right:
therefore you must exercise
ijtihad." Samhudi said: "Plainly, it
refers to differences in legal
rulings (ahkam). Ibn al-Salah said:
"This is different from what
Layth said concerning the
flexibility allowed for the
Community, since this applies
exclusively to the mujtahid as he
said: "you must exercise ijtihad,"
because the mujtahid's
competence makes him legally
responsible (mukallaf) to exercise
ijtihad and there is no flexibility
allowed for him over the matter
of their difference. The flexibility
applies exclusively to the
unqualified follower (muqallid).
The people meant in the saying:
"Difference of opinion in my
Community is a mercy for people"
are those unqualified followers.
As for the import of Malik's
saying "Among the Companions is
the one that is wrong and the
one that is right," it is meant
only as an answer to those who
say that the mujtahid is able to
follow the Companions. It is not
meant for others.""
11. The author of "al-Fiqh al-
ReplyDeleteAkbar" (attributed to Imam Abu
Hanifa) said: "Difference of
opinion in the Community is a
token of divine mercy."
12. Ibn Qudama al-Hanbali said in
"Al-`Aqa'id": "The difference in
opinion in the Community is a
mercy, and their agreement is a
proof."
Discussion
The decision of `Umar whereby
he gave precedence to `Ubayy
ibn Ka`b's ijtihad over the ijtihad
of `Abdullah ibn Mas`ud on the
validity of praying in a single
garment is not a proof that
`Abdullah was wrong, rather it is
a proof that `Umar exercised his
own ijtihad and authority as the
Greater Imam in settling the
question. He overruled, not
invalidated, and if Ibn Mas`ud
held his position from the
Prophet (s) he cannot change it
even after `Umar's ruling. This is
true of every true mujtahid at
any time: he is obligated to
follow the result of his own
ijtihad even if it should differ
with that of every other
mujtahid of the past and
present, unless he becomes
convinced that he was mistaken
in his previous ijtihad.
According to all the scholars it is
incumbent upon the leader of
the Muslims to be a mujtahid and
it is his responsibility in such
cases to settle the question for
the sake of the people of his
time, and that is the proper
context of Imam Malik's injuction:
"Exercise ijtihad." It is addressed
to the mufti who must establish
what is correct in clearcut
fashion, not to the muqallid
(follower) who is only interested
in "a way to follow" (= madhhab)
without having to verify its
proofs and inferences. However,
another mufti may reach
another conclusion and be
followed, and is not bound by
that of the first, nor are those
who take their fatwa from him,
and no-one finds fault with the
other, as Al-Layth ibn Sa`d
stated.
A clear proof that the fatwa of
the leader overrules but does
not invalidate the opinion of the
Companions even if it directly
contradicts it, is the fact that
when `Umar ibn al-Khattab
proposed to have all the hadith
collected and written down he
consulted the Companions and
they unanimously agreed to his
proposal; later he disapproved of
it and ordered that everyone
who had written a collection
burn it. Yet `Umar ibn `Abd al-
`Aziz later ordered that hadith
be collected and written. Al-Hafiz
al-Baghdadi relates it in his
"Taqyid al-`ilm" 49, 52-53,
105-106, and Ibn Sa`d in his
"Tabaqat" 3(1):206, 8:353.
Those who think they are
mujtahid but in reality are
unqualified, when faced by the
followers of madhahib, cover up
their ignorance with the flashy
claim: "We follow Qur'an and
Sunna, not madhahib." When it is
pointed out to them that to
follow a madhhab is to follow
Qur'an and Sunna through true
ijtihad, they become upset: "How
can the four madhhabs differ
and be right at the same time? I
have heard that only one may
be right, and the others wrong."
The answer is that one certainly
follows only the ruling that he
believes is right, but he can
never fanatically invalidate the
following of other rulings by
other madhahib, because they,
also, are based on sound
principles of ijtihad. At this they
rebel and begin numbering the
mistakes of the mujtahids: "Imam
Malik was right in this, but he
was wrong in that; Imam Shafi`i
was right in this, but he was
wrong in that . . . " This is what
they say, and what they hide in
their heart is worse because it
includes even the Companions.
This we will never accept. But
when they are rebuked for this
blatant disrespect they make it
known that they have been
wronged and "They are arrogant
in their sin" (2:206). This is
nothing else than the legacy of
the Wahhabi/Salafi movement.
Blessings and Peace on the
Prophet, his Family, and His
Companions. May Allah be well
pleased with the Four Mujtahid
Imams, and all the scholars who
feared Allah truly.
Source:
ReplyDeleteMadhabs - Modern Religion:
http://www.themodernreligion.com/index2.html
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